Health Benefits of Anjaneyasana (Low Lunge Pose)

There are many postures suggested by yoga practitioners that lower the level of cortisol and relieve anxiety symptoms. One of the most effective ones to mention is Anjaneyasana, or Low Lunge.

To know more about the benefits of Anjaneyasana, how to perform it and other details, read this piece until the end!

Low Lunge pose or Anjaneyasana is named after the mother of Hindu God Hanuman ‘Ajani’ also called ‘Anjaneya.’ Hanuman in the Hindu religion is a deity that brings courage, strength, dedication, valour, and power just like those who practice low lunges.

Performing this exercise stretches the tight muscles present in your lower body and gives you access to a fuller range of motion. Thus, it is perfect for those with desk jobs or athletes. However, people also practice it to feel relaxed or to build greater strength, flexibility and balance.

The following are some top benefits you can experience by adopting low lunges in your daily life:

1. Builds Awareness and Mental Focus

One of the biggest advantages of Anjaneyasana is it not only benefits your health but also affects your brain to improve focus and awareness. The pose improves concentration, enhances mental strength, helps be present at the current moment, and forms a stronger mind-body connection.

2. Relieves Sciatica and Other Spinal Conditions

Spinal conditions like sciatica have become common with a sedentary lifestyle, and performing low lunges regularly helps avoid that. The therapeutic effect of this yoga asana relieves you from the excruciating pain of sciatica. Moreover, bending makes your spine strong and mobile, preventing conditions.

3. Enhances Lower Body Strength and Flexibility

While performing low lunges, you engage your thighs, hips, groyne, quadriceps and hamstrings. This provides you with better motion and flexibility while increasing your stress level, increasing circulation and preventing injury.

4. Balances Chakra

Low lunge poses act both as a hip opener and a chest opener which stimulises chakra and balance it. By practising Low Lunge, your heart chakra opens up, which is the centre of universal love and self-love, thus bringing you care and compassion. Apart from this, it is seen that people carry negative emotions around the hips, and when the hips open up, it releases feelings.

In addition, it stretches your pelvic and groin, stimulating your sacral chakra and enhancing creativity. The Manipura chakra is activated by an abdominal stretch which balances emotions. Lastly, the slight neck stretch activates your throat chakra, which brings clarity to communication.

5. Decreases Stress and Anxiety

If you deal with mental problems like stress and anxiety, then low lunges can greatly help. We have tightness around the hips due to building up emotions and when they open, so do the stress and anxiety. As a result, you feel more grounded, stable and upright.

In addition, the pose helps you calm down, look into your heart space and focus on your breathing. By holding this posture for a few breaths, you teach yourself patience and perseverance.

6. Improves Abdominal System

Lung pose is highly beneficial for your abdominal area, enhancing its function by inducing weight loss effects, improving digestion and toning your abdominal muscle. Yoga also enhances fertility, improves the reproductive system, and gets rid of menstrual discomfort.

7. Re-Energises the Body

This one comes under the hidden pros of Anjaneyasana, but the pose also helps re-energise your body. The pose stretches out the lower portion of your body, thus increasing blood flow throughout the body. This further prepares you to take up more challenging postures.

On the other hand, the front body stretch awakens you emotionally and physically. This also means you can perform this exercise any time of the day as it provides you with energy without overstimulating your nervous system.

8. Improves Metabolic Functions

The pose also provides a great stretch to your neck muscles and thyroid region. As a result, it activates the right functioning of the gland and gives a boost to the metabolic functioning of the body.

Other Benefits:

• Improves blood circulation
• Help cope with cold temperature by producing heat
• Enhances reproductive system and its function

It may seem easy to perform Anjaneyasana, but maintaining the position for a long time is pretty challenging. However, with regular practice and effort, you can master it. Here are the steps to perform it in the right way:

Step 1: Start by standing tall on a mat.

Step 2: Take a wide stance and separate your legs apart. Place your hands on your hips.

Step 3: Turn your right toe 90-degree outwards and rotate your upper half to the right.

Step 4: Bend the knee and pull up the back of your heel above the ground.

Step 5: Lower your left knee while you exhale and rest the lower leg with your toes pointing back.

Step 6: Slowly breathe while you raise your arms and join the palms above your head.

Step 7: Lean back as much as possible. Balance this posture for 5 to 8 breaths.

Step 8: Inhale and come back to the normal position.

Step 9: Curl the toes of your back foot and try to straighten up your legs.

Step 10: Turn forward and repeat the same process for the other side.

Step 11: Bring your legs together and relax in the standing asana.

Here are a few tips that can help you attain a better posture:

1. Open Up Your Chest and Heart: Keep your heart open and your chest lifted away from the thigh. This is especially important if you have an emotional heart.
2. Make Your Hip Flexible: Work on your hip mobility to achieve a better posture in low lunges.
3. Keep Both Sides of Hip in Level: Focus on whether your hip is on the level. Also, equally square off both sides of hips towards front and back legs.

There are certain conditions in which it is better to abstain from making low lunges or do it with extra care. Some are mentioned for you here:

• Avoid the practice during pregnancy.
• Use props while performing the asana if you have a weak balance.
• Do not attempt Anjaneyasana if you have an injury on your back, knees, hamstrings and hips.
• Practice it only under expert guidance if you have heart disease or high blood pressure problems.

The following are the easy modifications which you can adopt if you find it difficult to balance the pose:

• Use Props for Support: If it is difficult to balance the pose, you can keep yoga blocks on either side or a yoga chair in front of you. It acts as a great support to keep your hands on.
• Place a Blanket Under the Knee: In the pose, your knees are down, touching the ground, so it can hurt. In this case, you can place a yoga blanket under the knees to protect them. In contrast, you can also fold your yoga mat to thicken it and avoid pain.
• Keep the Hands on the Ground: People can feel dizzy when they lift their arms overhead in conditions like high blood pressure and heart disease. So, it is better to keep your hands down on the ground.
• Use a Yoga Strap: To deepen the back bend, you can use a yoga strap and fix it at the end of your skull. Hold the belt with your hands and stretch your arms to pull it. As a result, it will lengthen your neck and lift your torso.
• Place a Wedge Under Your Front Foot: This is for people with an ankle injury or Achilles tendon injury. It is difficult to balance the posture, so they can use a wedge under the front foot. This lessens the stretch to the Achilles tendon and limits the intensity of dorsiflexion at the ankle.